TN Science Bowl Regional Guidelines

The Tennessee Science Bowl operates according to the rules published by the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl. In addition to the National Science Bowl rules, the TSB will operate under the following regional guidelines:

1. Competition Room Guidelines

1.1 - NO observers under the age of 18, including non-competing students, may be in the competition rooms until the final 2 rounds in the auditorium. Children and students who are not TSB team members will be asked to sit in the hallway or lobby during the competition.

1.2 - Per the NSB rules, no electronic device (smartwatches, phones, tablets, etc.) may be used by players, coaches, substitutes, or spectators once the match has started, including during the break between the two halves. The team of the player using the electronic device will be disqualified from the tournament. Additionally, if a player, coach, or spectator’s electronic device is audible during a match, that person will be ejected from the room. If it is a player, he or she will be ineligible for the match but may return for later matches. The alternate may substitute in at halftime, but not in the middle of a half.

2. Team Selection

2.1 - Teams of homeschool students competing will be limited to 2 teams per county. Team 1s from different homeschool associations will be accepted before team 2 is accepted to compete.

2.2 - A team with only three players for any reason may participate in the round robin matches but are not eligible to advance to the afternoon single-elimination tournament.

3. Competition Structure

3.1 - The TSB consists of a morning round robin competition and an afternoon single elimination tournament. At the end of each round robin match, regardless of the overall score, 2 points are awarded for a win, one point for a tie, and zero points for a loss. The top 2 teams from each of the 8 round robin divisions will move on to the seeded single elimination tournament.

3.2 - In the single elimination tournament, teams will be seeded based on the number of points earned in the round robin competition. Points will be calculated as a percentage of the total possible so that each division, regardless of the number of teams, will be evenly evaluated. There will be no tiebreaker rounds for seeding. In the event of teams with the same point percentage following the round robin, seeding will be assigned randomly.